Peace of Mind
by Marajade51
Summary: Macbeth grows weary of immortality and comes across a spell that will shield him from the world of men...and he's not going alone. Matters become complicated when the Illuminati and Brookyln develop an interest in his rather unusual traveling companion.
1. A New Night

_Author's Note: First of all, all of these characters with the exception of Bianca are property of that wonderful show Gargoyles. This story is set a little before "Hunter's Moon". Enjoy!

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Brooklyn curled his toes around the stone ledge letting loose a loud growl of a yawn. He threw his arms up embracing the warm night air, his bright eyes scanning the sky.

"Pretty nice night for it." Broadway scratched his belly.

Lexington jumped up onto the ledge, gazing down at the city with an eager gleam in his eye, "Sure is. Well come on, let's get going!" Angela squeezed Broadway's hand quickly.

"I'm going to make a quick stop first, I'll meet you there." With that and an affectionate nod to her father, Angela departed.

Goliath turned a quizzical eye to Lexington and then asked Broadway, "Where are you all heading? Lexington seems quite anxious."

"Shakespeare in the Park." Broadway grinned, "They're doing "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Care to come?"

"No thank you, I've had enough experience of Oberon's Children to last me two lifetimes!" Goliath indulged in a deep, hearty laugh.

"Suit yourself, Goliath…" Lexington spread his wings all but ready to leap off the building, but paused seeing Brooklyn not following suit. "Hey!" He perched on the stoop unmoving, gazing out over the city skyline his face settled into a distant frown. "Brooklyn! What are you, deaf?" His friend stirred and laughed, slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry Lex. Not quite awake yet, I guess."

"Well clean the rocks outta your ears and let's go already!" Lexington exclaimed, taking to the sky. Broadway followed suit, beckoning Brooklyn to do so as well.

"You don't seem quite yourself this evening, Brooklyn." Goliath observed, "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head, "No I'm alright…" With a sigh Brooklyn stretched his wings out. "I'll see you later, Goliath."

"Goodnight." He stayed to watch him depart with a growl of dissatisfaction. "Now what do you suppose-"

"Leave it alone, Laddy." Hudson advised with a smirk, "No good comes of prying where ye aren't welcome. The boy's just lonely, no doubt…and there's no curing that at present. Aye, better to leave it alone."

Goliath snorted in irritation, stalking back into the clock tower. Of course Hudson was right; it would be fruitless to force a confidence with Brooklyn. He'd certainly grown a fair amount in maturity over the years, but Goliath suspected this would be a sensitive subject for Brooklyn. When he had returned from his travels abroad with his daughter Angela all three of the boys had tried their hand at courting her. Finally it was Broadway that had won Angela's favor leaving poor Brooklyn feeling his isolation all the more forcefully. Yet he, being an affectionate brother, had very quickly found that his happiness for his rookery brother outweighed any romantic feelings he had for Angela. It had taken a rival to show him that he hadn't suffered true love yet. Goliath had observed this much over the past few months, but was alarmed to see that far from slowly regaining his spirits, Brooklyn seemed only to be growing more depressed as time went on. This was the first time in two weeks he'd actually gone out with the others. He'd been keeping more and more to himself lately…and Goliath was steadily becoming more and more concerned for his young friend.

* * *

"Fantastic." The young gargoyle's eyes shone brightly as she surveyed the city.

"Come down now, Bianca…it isn't safe up here." Bianca stood gracefully atop the antennae of the Empire State Building, her deep charcoal-colored wings extended to keep her balanced on the precarious spire.

With a calm smile she closed her eyes, "You worry too much!" Sighing happily, she added, "What a view…I can't thank you enough for this, truly."

Macbeth, from the rooftop beneath her called out, "If you want to thank me then get down already! You'll be seen."

"You're being remarkably paranoid." Bianca stated, dutifully hopping back down to the roof top. "Alright, here I am. Happy now?" Seeing his stern countenance, she sighed, her bright green eyes sparkling with mirth, "Honestly, you're positively infuriating! There's simply no pleasing you, is there?"

"None at all, I'm a ruthless tyrant."

"Who's arguing?" As he shook his head, exasperated, she beamed with satisfaction, looking back up to the top of the building, "I've always wanted to do that, you know."

Macbeth snorted, vaguely irritated, "I've never understood these odd fancies of yours. Tell me again, why the Empire State Building exactly?"

"Haven't you ever seen King Kong?" Macbeth shook his head with disdain. "Centuries of experience, the gift of immortality, and you don't even know who King Kong is. I'd be ashamed of myself if I were you."

Macbeth narrowed his eyes, "And if I were you I wouldn't speak to my elders with such little respect."

"You happen to like my impertinence." Her face fell after a moment when he failed to laugh. "I'm sorry…did I really upset you? I was only teasing."

Macbeth's face softened, "No my dear," he soothed her, tugging on a lock of her dark burgundy hair, "I'm just a bit preoccupied today. That's all, nothing to do with you."

"You haven't been yourself for quite some time now…even before the funeral."

"Yes, well..." He clasped his hands behind his back, "Bianca, I know I haven't been able to see you as often as I'd like these past few years…"

Bianca frowned, "You have a life you need to lead independent of me. I've always understood that…but I have to say I'm worried about you. I went so long without hearing from you at all…and then that strange note about a marriage…and now bringing me here. I wish you'd tell me what was going on."

"It's been a strange trip for me Bianca, this past year. But now I've had some time to think..."

"You're immortal," She said sardonically, "you always have time to think."

Macbeth silenced her, cracking a benevolent smile, "Enough you little wench, let me finish! As I was saying, I've had some time to think…to sort out my priorities, if you will…"

"Oh have you?" Bianca asked coolly, "And did I make your list?"

Macbeth put his hands on her shoulders, "You did indeed, my child. In fact, you feature quite high on my list." She smiled warmly, gratified. "And that's really why I've brought you here. I know you've always wanted to see New York, and I wanted you to have that chance before it becomes too late."

"Too late?" Bianca asked, slightly alarmed.

With a weary sigh Macbeth nodded, "I'm old, Bianca. I've traveled this world for nigh on centuries now…I've seen all that I wish to. I grow weary of this world…of the pain it brings." He paused, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. "All I truly lack now is family and peace of mind. You, my child, are the closest thing I have to family. And, now that I've brought you here, I believe you can help me find that peace of mind."

Taking his hand, Bianca steadfastly told him, "I'll help you in any way that I can, Father."


	2. A Slow Night

The following evening Goliath awoke with a roar, shaking off the last remnants of his stone skin.

"Well good morning." Goliath's face warmed as he heard Elisa Maza's voice.

"Ahh, Elisa." He smiled down at the lovely detective. "We have not seen you recently."

Elisa nodded, "Been catching up on some sleep, that's all."

"You haven't been unwell, I trust?" Goliath ventured, alarmed.

Quickly Elisa threw her hands up and protested, "No! No, really, I'm fine!" The most recent time she'd admitted to being sick to the gargoyles they had insisted on applying Broadway's sure fire cure for the common cold; it amounted to a giant side of raw beef delivered right to her balcony, courtesy of some poor neighborhood butcher who had carelessly left his meat locker open long enough for Broadway to slip in and out unnoticed. The thing weighed so much she had had to ask Matt to help her drag it out to the curb with her, amidst some odd looks from her neighbors. It was one of the many times she felt thankful to be living in Manhattan…at least she knew the garbage men had seen weirder.

"Well…" Goliath went on cautiously, "we've missed you. I've missed you."

Elisa smiled back, placing a hand over his, "And I've missed you." The rest of the gargoyles looked on, amused. Slowly but surely the two of them were becoming more open about their relationship, and it was a joy for their friends to watch. It had done wonders for Goliath's mood. "Well?" She finally asked, conscious of the others, "Are Matt and I getting our gargoyle escort tonight or not?"

Brooklyn immediately put himself forward, "I'd like to go." The others all frowned. Trailing Elisa while she was on duty was the most solitary of all the patrols the gargoyles had taken upon themselves in their efforts to protect the city. As such the position usually shifted every night Elisa was on duty. No one wanted to spend the entire night alone…but Brooklyn had volunteered for it every night she'd been on duty for the past two weeks.

"Brooklyn…" Elisa said haltingly, "I appreciate your wanting to come along, but…wouldn't you like to take a different post tonight? Following me around has got to be getting pretty dull."

"I don't mind." He answered, opting to ignore the looks of concern on his brothers' faces. Elisa appealed to Goliath, who only shrugged helplessly.

"Alright then, sounds good." She sighed in defeat, handing the ear piece over to Brooklyn. With a grateful smile he took the ear piece and made his way back to the ledge, fiddling with the radio as he fixed it to his belt. Elisa carefully walked back into the clock tower with Goliath.

In a whisper she said, "Are you sure you should let him go, Goliath?"

"I have no reason to forbid him." He answered with a sigh.

"Well, I know, but…"

Goliath nodded, "Yes, I'm worried about him too. See if you can't get him to talk, Elisa. Perhaps he'll find it easier to confide in you than me."

Elisa nodded, shoving her hands into her pockets skeptically, "Alright, I'll do what I can."

He gallantly took her hand and kissed it tenderly, "I expected nothing less from you, Elisa." She favored him with another warm smile before walking out.

* * *

Matt scanned the streets listlessly, a yawn escaping from his lips.

"Slow night." Elisa ventured.

"Yeah, that's the fifth time you've said that." Matt grumbled, "I'm so bored I'm thinking I just might need to take up crime myself. At least then I'd know for sure I was gonna get some action." Elisa just rolled her eyes.

"Well sure," Brooklyn's voice came over the radio, "that'd be fine for tonight, but after that it'd only get worse…there's even less to do in prison." He said dryly.

Matt objected, "Oh I don't know, I mean, in my experience of prison-"

"Enough you two!" Elisa laughed. Matt looked up as she parked in front of a convenience store.

"What are we doing here?" he inquired.

Unbuckling her seat belt Elisa smiled, "Reminding you what it means to be a cop…go get us some doughnuts."

"Why me?" He moaned.

"Because I'm driving, now scram." Shoving his hands in his pockets Matt Bluestone ambled into the grocery store, grumbling as he went. Watching the sky, Elisa strolled to the back of her car and leaned against the fender. "Want anything from the store, Brooklyn?"

His voice answered, "No, I'm good."

"You're awfully quiet tonight." Elisa said reproachfully. Brooklyn remained silent. "Come on Brooklyn…I'm worried about you. Talk to me." She urged him gently.

Softly he answered, "There's nothing to talk about."

"Is this about Angela?"

"What!" Brooklyn exclaimed, "No!" He paused, "Not exactly."

Elisa folded her arms, "Not exactly?"

"I think we're losing signal Elisa, you're breaking up." Brooklyn answered, making loud static noises with his mouth.

With a laugh she insisted, "I am not, so cut it out. I wanna help you Brooklyn. Tell me what's bothering you."

"There's no point Elisa, there's nothing you can do." She didn't respond, sensing some hesitation on her friend's part, "Well…It's not really easy being alone when everyone else around you-"

"Oh Brooklyn, you're not-"

"Come on Elisa, gimmie a break." Brooklyn said incredulously. "Everyone…everyone has someone to be close to. You and Goliath, Broadway and Angela, Lex has gone nuts over the baby, even Hudson has Bronx to keep him company." His voice became a little huskier, a little sadder, "I don't have anyone I feel a…a connection with, and I'm starting to feel like I never will. I'm sorry if I've been a little distant lately, I'm just trying to sort things out for myself, that's all. It's taking some getting used to."

"Getting used to!" Elisa balked, "Is that why you've been keeping to yourself lately, so you can 'get used' to being alone? Brooklyn, that's ridiculous."

Defensively Brooklyn answered, "Look, I'm not doing anything wrong, I'm not abandoning my clan. I'm just trying to get comfortable with being on my own. Haven't you ever wanted to just shut yourself away from it all?"

"The world doesn't work that way." Elisa said gently, "Pain doesn't stop because you distance yourself from the ones who care about you."

Brooklyn snorted, "Well, it's the only satisfactory idea I've come up with, and so far it seems to be working."

"Brooklyn-" Elisa began in a warning tone. She looked up as Matt walked back out. "We'll finish this later."

"I can't wait."

Matt smiled up at the roof top Brooklyn was perched on, "Someone's in trouble!" he sang teasingly.

Brooklyn smugly answered, "Bluestone, my hero. We're so glad you're back! Elisa and I were so worried…I hope those doughnuts didn't give you too much trouble."

"Har har." Matt exclaimed as Elisa started up the car, "You just watch it or I'll hand you over to the zoo."

"Oohh, I'm shaking!"

Elisa interceded, "Alright! That's enough…let's just have silence for the next half hour, alright?"

After a few sullen moments of silence Bluestone muttered, "He started it." Before Brooklyn or Elisa had a chance to respond they got a call on their radio.

"What is it?" Brooklyn asked anxiously.

Elisa flipped her siren on, answering quickly, "Burglary in progress, museum of natural history…we're the closest unit responding. Better see if you can head us off, Brooklyn."

"I'm on it, meet you there." Brooklyn answered.


	3. The Robbery

Brooklyn alighted on the roof of the museum. Apparently their burglar had also entered that way. Half of the glass skylight had been ripped clean off.

Brooklyn whistled in dismay, surveying the damage, "Well Elisa," He said into the radio, "Looks like we're not dealing with a human here."

Elisa's voice sighed, "Great. Proceed with caution…we'll be there in a couple of minutes."

"Right." Brooklyn silently dropped down into the museum and strained his ears. He heard a distant crash and hastened down to the right to follow the noise. A few unconscious guards along the way convinced him he was on the right track. Surprisingly, Brooklyn realized as he more closely examined one of the fallen guards, whoever or whatever had done this had taken great care with all the guards. None of them had so much as a scratch on them. They were all laid out very carefully on their backs. Brooklyn scratched his head, puzzled. This didn't seem like the work of your typical burglar at all. His head reared up, the sound of breaking glass was louder now: it was coming from the Aztec room. Brooklyn saw a figure crouched over a broken glass case, sifting through it, searching for something. With a roar he charged in head first, tackling the would-be thief and bringing them to the ground.

"Alright, stop right where you are! Who are you, and what do you want?" He paused, looking at the captive beneath him. The first sight he was met with was a pair of shockingly bright green eyes. He gasped as he realized it was a gargoyle…a young, female gargoyle.

"Can't…talk…" She choked out.

"What? Who are you working for? Why won't you talk?"

She forcefully shoved Brooklyn off of her and sat up, "Because you were sitting on my solar plexus!" She wheezed. She gathered her bearings quickly and looked at her assailant. "A…a gargoyle!" She gasped. They both scrambled to their feet and circled one another, teeth bared, sizing each other up. She was a young gargoyle, probably around Brooklyn's age, in what looked to be fairly good physical condition. She had deep grey skin, darker than Goliath's, and long, thick, curly burgundy hair that two petit, cat-like ears poked out of along the sides. Oddly enough, she appeared to be completely unarmed. Her clothing was surprisingly contemporary: she wore a deep red tank top and a pair of cutoff jean shorts out of which poked a rather long tail with a tuft of burgundy fur on the end. Apart from the four small horns protruding on either side of her forehead, and her eyes, her face looked almost human: it had a sprightly, puckish quality. She had two wide almond cat eyes that glowed a bright inquisitive green, a pert little nose and a small pair of lips, now pursed together pensively as she regarded her adversary, the tips of her fangs just visible.

"Who are you?" Brooklyn reiterated, "How did you get here?"

The girl didn't seem intimidated, "What are you, a cop?" she asked sarcastically.  
"Yeah, sure…NYPD, hands up."

"Nice uniform." The girl said playfully.

Brooklyn smiled, "I'm an undercover agent."

"I'm sure. Where's your badge?" She smirked.

"Left it in my other pair of pants."

The gargoyle smiled despite herself, "Not bad. But if you'll excuse me…" She raced into the next room, knocking a column over along the way to slow Brooklyn in his pursuit. As Brooklyn leapt over the column another museum guard jumped out holding a gun, his hand quaking.

"Alright, freeze! What the…" He quailed in fear at the creature before him. The gargoyle advanced a little closer and the guard shot. With a slight gasp of fear she jumped out of the way. Quickly she whipped her tail around and knocked the guard out with it, reaching her arms up to break his fall. Brooklyn watched in surprise as she gently laid him down on the ground, took the gun from his hand and bent the muzzle, tossing it away. She raised her tail up to smash another glass case, but, seeing Brooklyn out of the corner of her eye trying to sneak up behind her, whipped her tail back around, first to stun him with a blow to the head, then to knock his feet out from under him. Once he was flat on his back, while Brooklyn was still stunned, the gargoyle speedily rolled the nearby fallen column onto his outstretched wing, followed by two heavy broken display cases. It was enough to keep him pinned to the floor, his wing trapped firmly. It wouldn't hold him off long, but it bought the girl the time she needed.

"I'm really sorry," She said hastily, breaking the glass case. "I'd like you to know I don't normally do things like this…" She reached her hands in and began to dig around for something frantically, as Brooklyn tried to tug his wing free. The girl was quite strong…he was having a difficult time lifting his weights. "Eureka!" She exclaimed tossing glass and debris aside to grab hold of her object.

"If you're so sorry then why are you stealing in the first place?" Brooklyn grunted, pushing one of the glass cases off.

The gargoyle felt the need to defend herself, "I don't consider this stealing." She held up a gold, gem encrusted amulet shaped like the moon, "It's thousands of years old…I think that makes it public domain, don't you?"

"Obviously not." Brooklyn asserted, finally pulling his wing free. He yelped a little as his wing tore a bit. The gargoyle winced slightly, backing away towards the door.

"I got what I wanted…can't we just call it quits?"

Brooklyn advanced towards her, "I'm afraid not." Elisa and Matt were probably in the museum right now, making their way towards them. If he could just keep her talking… "You…you don't seem like your typical thief…"

"Thank you." She said softly, her eyes darting down the hall to her nearest escape.

"Why are you doing this? How did you even get here? I didn't think there were any other gargoyles in Manhattan. Where do you come from?"

The girl wasn't playing ball, "Odds are I'm faster than you."

"Sure you wanna take those odds?" Brooklyn asked, gearing up for a chase.

"Doesn't seem like I have much of a choice." She bolted on all fours, sprinting down the hall. Brooklyn gave chase, but she was indeed faster than him. Thankfully Elisa and Matt had caught up. They were standing under the broken skylight in the middle of the hallway, guns drawn.

"Freeze, police!" Elisa called out. The girl gargoyle saw them and, rather than running straight through them at breakneck speed and knocking them over, reflexively spun out to the side to avoid them and crashed into a nearby statue. Brooklyn skidded to a halt and cautiously approached her, concerned. "You're under arrest!" Elisa continued.

"Oooh…" She moaned, "that sucked." Elisa and Matt exchanged puzzled glances, keeping their weapons trained on the gargoyle.

Brooklyn asked gently, "Are you alright?" She was sprawled out on her back, looking up at the skylight. Suddenly her eyes lit up and she smiled. The deafening sound of a helicopter filled the room, a rope tumbled down from the open hole in the ceiling.

"I am now!" She responded, tackling Brooklyn full force. The two struggled momentarily. They seemed to be fairly equally matched, neither could quite get the upper hand. Elisa followed them with her gun, but the other gargoyle was too close to Brooklyn for her to get a clear, safe shot. In a quick move the girl jabbed her knee into his stomach quickly, knocking the wind out of Brookyln. Gracefully she flipped him over her back and snapped her body around, tossing Brooklyn right into Elisa and Matt knocking all three over. The girl gargoyle then made a run for it and grabbed hold of the rope. As the gargoyle was quickly lifted out of the room she gazed down at Brooklyn. He stared back up at her, burning with curiosity. Matt managed to squeeze off a few shots at the helicopter, but none of them made their mark. By the time they had all gotten to their feet, the helicopter was long gone.

Elisa holstered her gun with a grunt of frustration, "Blast it…Brooklyn, was that a gargoyle?"

"I…I think it was." He murmured, gazing up through the skylight.

Matt Bluestone approached, putting an arm on Brooklyn, "No time to discuss it now, back up should be arriving any second."

"Right." Elisa nodded swiftly, "Matt, you stay here and deal with them…I think I need to tell Goliath." Brooklyn spread his wings and bent slightly, allowing Elisa to throw her arms around his neck. He dug his claws into the cement and climbed up to the roof, his friend clinging to his back. They took off just as four more squad cars arrived.


	4. Repercussions

As soon as Bianca was safely in the helicopter she closed the drop hatch and sighed in relief. She pulled out the amulet with a satisfied smile and held it out for Macbeth to see.

"Well? How'd I do?"

"Dreadful!" Macbeth exclaimed, keeping his eyes focused ahead as he piloted. "The most appalling attempt at larceny I've seen to date."

With an indignant snort she crawled into the passenger seat beside him, "I don't do this for a living, you know. I don't think that was bad for a beginner."

"I told you to be careful." He continued scolding her, "You could have been hurt."

Bianca carefully tucked the amulet away into her pocket, ignoring the throbbing of her head, "Yeah, but I _wasn't_ hurt so you can spare me the lecture." She stared out the window and watched the museum grow distant. "...there was a gargoyle in the museum, Father. He tried to stop me."

He frowned, concerned, but not surprised, "Which one was it?"

"You mean there are more?" She asked eagerly, "A whole clan in New York? What do they-"

"That's none of your concern, Bianca. What did this one look like?"

"He was crimson…with pure white hair. A little taller than me. And he had blue eyes." Macbeth nodded: that was Brooklyn she was describing. It was fortunate it hadn't been Goliath…otherwise she wouldn't have gotten away. As it was, it was a wonder she wasn't injured, but then again, he knew Brooklyn to be one of the more cautious ones. "Do you know him?" He nodded silently. After a short pause Bianca asked, "What's his name?" He shot her a suspicious sideways glance. A blush rose to her face, "Don't look at me like that, what do you take me for? I'm only curious!"

"Once more, it isn't your affair. You won't be seeing him again." He paused, alarmed by her frown, "Those gargoyles aren't to be trusted….and if by some chance we should run into them, you're not to go near."

Bianca objected, "Are you serious? What, are they evil? He seemed perfectly nice to me."

"Evil and good is neither here nor there." Macbeth answered evenly, "But they do tend to meddle…and they would certainly interfere with our plans if given the opportunity. So you're not to speak to them…and definitely not to go looking for them. Do you understand me, Bianca?"

"You're being ridiculous. I'm not a child anymore you know. My one chance to talk to other gargoyles-"

"Bianca, please...I'm quite serious. You need to trust me on this, you _cannot_ speak to those gargoyles, it could ruin everything. Promise me Bianca, swear to me you won't seek them out." He insisted urgently.

Bianca silently deliberated for a moment, examining his distressed countenance, "Yes Father, I swear it." She said gravely. With a sigh he nodded. Macbeth turned his eyes back to the front, still looking a little agitated. After a few moments of sober silence she turned to him with a sardonic smile, shyly trying to heal the breach. "I find your lack of faith disturbing." She said playfully. Expectantly she looked to Macbeth: no reaction. "Oh come on, you've gotta know that one! Star Wars? Ring a bell?" He shook his head, trying his best not to smile. "You need to get out more."

Macbeth answered, "I obviously didn't devote enough attention to overseeing your education as a child. You shouldn't have been allowed access to these ridiculous movies."

"Father…" Bianca sighed wearily, very used to having this discussion. "Give it a rest, would you? Movies are my only window to the world…and I promise you I learned my French and Italian besides. I found the Aztecs well enough, didn't I?" Grudgingly Macbeth nodded. Bianca looked over at him, "I'm a little surprised you let me go into the museum at all. I might not have if I had known you were going to have a coronary over it."

"The amulet must have remained untouched by human hands for a full year in order for the spell to work." He turned to look at her, "If I had any other option open to me, believe me, I would have taken it!"

"I did fine," she scoffed, "I'm a natural."

Macbeth smiled, "Oh yes, set off every alarm in the building, no less than five squad cars showing up to give chase, and, lest we forget, you managed to get yourself into a scuffle with another gargoyle of all things…a natural!" He chuckled, "Don't quit your day job, my dear."

"A saying ill-applied to a gargoyle, I think." She answered with a grin. As Bianca gazed out the window her smile slowly faded.

"It will take me a few days to master the spell and gather the other necessary ingredients. Until then I suppose you may wander about the city some…as long as you promise me to be cautious, and remain unseen." Pausing he looked over at Bianca, surprised to find her in low spirits. "What's the matter, Child?" Macbeth asked gently. She was thinking of the gargoyle, his torn wing…and his blue eyes...

Bianca softly replied, "Nothing." Macbeth regarded her for a moment and turned his eyes away calmly.

"Just try to put him out of your mind, my dear." He said soberly, guessing her thoughts.

She answered obediently, still staring out the window, "Consider him gone, Father."

* * *

Goliath shut his book and put it aside, "And you're quite sure it was a gargoyle?"

Brooklyn nodded, "No doubt. Female, young…pretty strong, too. Stronger than me, at any rate. She was skittish. She jumped at the sound of a gun like she'd never heard it before."

Hudson stroked his beard, musing, "A gargoyle stealing? How odd…"

"And you believe she was inexperienced?"

"Very." Brooklyn agreed. "She was a good fighter, had some good maneuvers, but she didn't actually _want_ to fight me. The first time I tangled with her she stunned me and left me pinned down by my wing." He reached a hand up and gingerly touched the sore tear in his wing. It had been a little difficult for him to glide back on it, particularly with Elisa. It ended up taking them a bit longer than expected. "It was weird Goliath. She was just so…reluctant. I dunno how else to describe it. She really didn't want to hurt me. That's why she went to all the trouble of pinning me down by my wing…she could have just thrown the column and those display cases on top of me and broken my legs and saved herself some time, but she didn't. When she saw me rip my wing I could just tell she felt bad about it. And the way she took out the guards? She was so gentle with them all, catching them before they fell, laying them down softly…she even apologized to me at one point."

Elisa joined in, "More than that, Matt and I put ourselves right in her path when she was running down the hall. When she saw us in her way she actually _moved _to avoid hitting us! She ended up colliding with a statue instead. The only thing that saved her was the helicopter. I phoned in to Matt, he's running down the make and model of it now…and the description of the talisman she took."

Goliath growled, "Perhaps it was all a ploy to gain sympathy."

"Aye, such tricks were common of Xanatos…but I dare he isn't behind this." Since saving his son, the gargoyles had all been on very good terms with David Xanatos. In his gratitude Xanatos had faithfully sworn to turn over a new leaf, and so far over the course of these past few months, he had indeed stuck to his word even going so far as to offer the castle to the gargoyles to live in once more. They hadn't accepted yet, but retained the right to visit their ancestral home whenever they chose.

"But why?" Elisa asked, "If she was trying to make herself look good then why was she so desperate to get away?"

Brooklyn nodded his agreement, "It's not like she stuck around…the girl was definitely trying to run from me." Brooklyn explained, "And I don't think she was organized enough to carry on that kind of deception. She was intensely concerned with not harming anyone and equally careless about the artifact she stole. The way she ransacked the place was totally unprofessional. She was looking for one specific item, but in her hurry she would smash a case and then sift through it trying to find the thing. She was too panicked to look for it first. She spoke to me freely, even tried to convince me that what she was doing wasn't technically stealing. And finally once she got what she wanted she actually held it up for me to see as we argued about it. This girl really honestly didn't know what she was doing, Goliath."

"I still say it could be a trick." Goliath insisted.

Brooklyn shook his head, "No…no, she was sincere."

He looked at his second in command warily, "How can you tell?"

"I just know." Brooklyn answered firmly. Goliath looked troubled, prompting him to say, rather crossly, "Don't look at me like that! Did I say I wanted to hunt her down and find her! I could never see that girl again for all I care! I don't instantly develop a crush on every female I see, you know. Give me some credit."

"I did not mean to imply anything of the kind, Brooklyn." Goliath said, trying to soothe his ruffled feathers, "Nor do I think it."

He sighed, "I'm sorry Goliath. I didn't mean to jump down your throat or anything. I know I don't have the best history with girls and I just…"

"Jumped to the conclusion that you yourself are afraid of."

"Yeah, I guess so." Brooklyn said softly.

"I think perhaps you ought to try giving _yourself _some credit Brooklyn."

He took in a deep breath and folded up his wings carefully, "Well then…" He said, withdrawing, "I believed her." He turned away and headed for the door, "I'll…I'll be around if you need me." Goliath, Hudson and Elisa watched him go silently. They all jumped a little as Elisa's cell phone rang.

She flipped the phone open and brought it to her ear, "Yeah, Matt?" She listened carefully, nodding occasionally. Elisa looked up and shot a glance at Goliath. "Oh really? Right, okay…great work Matt, thanks. No, I'll finish up myself, thanks." She closed the phone and slipped it in her pocket, "Well, the talisman she stole is an old Aztec piece called the Moon Pendulum. It would fetch a cool million or two on the open market, but there were plenty of other much more expensive pieces that she passed up…so we'll have to assume money wasn't the motive."

Hudson nodded, "No doubt it's some sort of magic talisman."

"I'll do some research on it as soon as I can…Matt's taking off the rest of the night, personal matter or something, so I'll probably be too bogged down to dig up anything tonight." Elisa said, "And you might have Lexington look into it too."

"Yes, we shall." Goliath agreed. "Was there anything else, Elisa?"

"As a matter of fact, yes…for one thing the security tape of the robbery has gone missing. But more importantly than that, the helicopter was licensed to one Lennox MacDuff, no address, no records."

Goliath looked startled, "Macbeth!"

"That's right."

Goliath was thoughtful, "The last we saw of Macbeth he was trying to build a new life for himself. I'm a little surprised he would have a hand in this burglary."

"Or that he would have a gargoyle in his employ." Elisa added in.

"He has no enmity towards us as a race, his hatred is focused on Demona…and rightly so, I think." Goliath said, "I would even venture to say we parted on agreeable terms the last time we met…I have no reason to assume that he means us or the city any harm."

Elisa frowned, "Come on Goliath…I agree, Macbeth's not a bad guy, but after all he did commit theft…and I don't know about you, but I'd sure like to know a bit more about that gargoyle…and moreover, in _anyone_'s hands, even in those whose intentions are good, magic can be very dangerous. You can't honestly tell me you think we should just let him alone."

"No…you're right of course." Sighed Goliath. "We'll find out more about that talisman…and then move from there."

"Right. Well, duty calls…I'll bring you whatever I find. Bye you two." She pressed two fingers to her lips then quickly touched them to Goliath's before exiting. Goliath allowed himself a rare smile as she left. Suddenly embarrassed as he felt Hudson's eyes on him, Goliath coughed and stepped back out onto the balcony.

Hudson turned to Bronx with a laugh, stroking his head, "Ah, young love."

* * *

"Fellow Illuminatus, welcome. We have called this special meeting to discuss a most interesting development in the…gargoyle conundrum." A dull murmur pervaded the room. "Our knowledge of the gargoyle is limited at present, but there can be little doubt of its existence as a species. As you all know, so far our efforts to capture one of these elusive creatures have proved fruitless. The gargoyles, however many there are, seem to have adapted themselves well enough to their new environment to remain effectively shielded from us. But fortunately recent events have conspired to open up a new avenue of pursuit to us…we may thank Brother Malcolm for this latest piece of intelligence. Roll the footage." A projector screen descended slowly from the ceiling. The feed from the museum's security camera played on it in a loop, clearly showing the young gargoyle thief sifting through a broken display case. "This appears to be a brand new gargoyle…there are no previous sightings of any matching its description. More over we have identified and traced the origin of the helicopter it escaped into. Gentlemen, this is a golden opportunity we have before us today…a chance to delve into the secrets of a race long forgotten. I suggest we take advantage of our good fortune." Amidst the thunderous applause of his hooded brethren, two faces remained grave and silent.

Once outside the building Matt Bluestone loosened his tie running a hand through his hair: it was close to sunrise now. The involvement of the Illuminati in the museum burglary was about the last thing he needed right now. And considering their reception of Goliath at the hotel Cabal, he had no good opinion of any hospitality they might extend to the girl once they found her…oh, and they would find her, Matt Bluestone had no doubt. And no one, whoever they were working for, deserved the kind of treatment the Illuminati bestowed on their guests. Now the only question was whether he and the gargoyles could find her first.

This presented Matt with another awkward problem: getting the clan involved would force him to divulge his membership in the Illuminati…something he wasn't quite certain he was ready to give up yet. But it seems now he had little choice: someone had to warn the gargoyles of the danger this new girl was in, and if not Matt, then who?

"Detective Bluestone…may I offer you a lift?"

Hesitantly, Matt climbed into the limousine.  
"Well Mr. Xanatos…to what do I owe the pleasure?"

David Xanatos motioned for Owen to drive on before speaking, in a rather grave voice, "Please, call me David. No formalities amongst brethren."

"You don't seem your usual effervescent self this evening, David. Nothing troubling you, I hope?" Matt asked with just a hint of mockery in his voice.

"The same thing that's troubling you, I should imagine." He began, gazing out the window. Suddenly Xanatos turned to him urgently, "Detective…Matt…you do realize that once the Illuminati sets itself to a task there is precious little if any chance of their failing."

Bluestone frowned, folding his arms, "Yes, I realize that."

"Our, uh 'friends' will want to know about this. One of us will have to warn them."

Startled, he looked up at Xanatos, "Is that an offer?"

He nodded, "I wanted to give you the opportunity of informing them first. You're an ally…I only recently became a neutral party."

Matt leaned in, "We aren't talking about an act of neutrality here, Xanatos."

"They saved my son. That's not something I'm likely to forget any time soon." Xanatos explained evenly. Matt continued to stare at him slightly incredulously so Xanatos added, "And besides, one likes to feel they have a few secrets. Maybe I just don't feel like sharing the gargoyles with anyone else quite yet." Bluestone cracked a smile. "So do you tell them or do I?"

"You can tell the clan." Matt decided. "They don't know I'm a member…it might raise some awkward questions I'm not ready to answer yet." David Xanatos raised an eyebrow at him. "Well…one likes to feel they have a few secrets." He said playfully.

Xanatos chuckled, "Very good, Detective…there may be hope for you yet."

"I'm not sure I want to know as what."

David grinned, "Then don't ask. I'll keep my eyes and ears open, and I suggest you do the same. If you come up with anything call this number and we can set up a meeting. It's my private line, very secure, but still…some things simply should not be discussed over the phone." He reached into his pocket and handed Matt a business card. "And don't go spreading that around, Bluestone. If I find it written somewhere in a restaurant bathroom stall…I'll be a bit put out."

"Shouldn't have given me the idea then." Matt grinned back, stuffing the card into his pocket.


	5. A Little Background

The following night Macbeth awoke with a start: he looked about, disoriented. As the years went on names, faces, rooms, castles all became a dizzying blur to him. Where was he now? What year was it? He sat in his favorite armchair by a roaring fire…the chair was a piece dating back to the French Revolution. He knew because he had collected it himself from a recently deceased nobleman's house shortly before the execution of Robespierre himself, at which point he'd thought it best to retire from France for a few years. Ever since, the chair had a place of prominence in all of his residences. Macbeth looked down at the book in his lap and immediately recalled himself: he was in New York. He must have dozed off…what time was it?

Macbeth stood to stir the coals of the fire, placing the ancient tome on the mantel piece. He'd been going over the spell again. By his calculations it would take just a little under a week to make all the necessary preparations. The spell itself was fairly uncomplicated: it would create a safe haven just outside known time and space, a paradise where they would remain unseen, concealed from all eyes until the very end of time itself…a permanent sanctuary where he and his daughter could live forever, beyond the reach of treachery, pain or death.

Picking up the poker, Macbeth stirred the fire, gazing thoughtfully at the glowing embers. He still hadn't fully explained what the spell actually entailed to his young charge, but that didn't matter to her…Bianca had the utmost faith in him. She knew Macbeth had only her best interests at heart. He could still remember the day he'd found her…

At some point later on in his meanderings through the world, almost forty years ago now, Macbeth had decided to take up a more permanent homestead on the relatively secluded island of Elba, just off the coast of Italy. He had originally been drawn there again by a desire to retrace the exploits of Napoleon, an old friend of his, but found the place so charming on rediscovery that he decided to settle there for a time. One day, while he was exploring the mainland of Italy just by the coast, he'd happened upon a small, isolated village that had only just recently rid itself of an infestation of vermin, as one of the villagers described it. These vermin, Macbeth soon discovered, were the last of an unfortunate, dwindling clan of gargoyles. All over Europe their numbers had been fading. It was a wonder this group had lasted as long as they had…the last clan of gargoyles he'd come across had been well over two hundred years ago in Belgium. By some miraculous intervention Macbeth had come across this village just as the townsfolk were setting off to hunt down the gargoyle rookery and permanently wipe their clan from existence. Although Macbeth had no real love for the gargoyle species, he had no problem with them, save one, and the thought of destroying innocent lives seemed so patently dishonest, so ignoble to him, he decided to intervene if he could. It wasn't hard to find the rookery, if you were well acquainted with the habits of gargoyles as Macbeth was…he had no trouble seeking it out before the villagers. To save them all was impossible; he was only one man, and had no intention of becoming a nursemaid to a litter of children, so he selected two eggs and took off with them.

Escape wasn't quite as simple as he had imagined and, after a minor scuffle with the villagers and the consequent unfortunate loss of one of the eggs, Macbeth managed to get away relatively unscathed. He kept the egg safe in his home at Elba, intending to watch it hatch, look after it for a few months and then set it loose to follow its own bent in the world.

His plans changed when the egg finally hatched. Macbeth found himself strangely taken with the small helpless gargoyle, the flutter of her tiny little wings, the gentle pressure of her claw squeezing his finger. Her presence both pleased and comforted him in a way he hadn't felt in decades. Macbeth soon decided to keep the creature, carefully confined of course, and set about finding little Bianca an exceptional nursemaid and, eventually, a governess. It took him well over a year of careful searching to find a qualified, competent, dedicated, and most of all, loyal woman to fill the position. The governess remained Bianca's constant companion, watching over her while Macbeth conducted business elsewhere around the world. Despite his frequent, lengthy absences Bianca developed the understanding and feeling, as he had secretly hoped she would, that likened Macbeth to a father in her eyes. She'd referred to him as such from almost the earliest moments of her childhood. Bianca grew to embrace all of the values Macbeth had instilled in her from her infancy: a quick intellect, a lively wit, the ability to defend herself, a keen sense of honor, and most of all unswerving loyalty and devotion to those she loved. True, she was a bit wild at times, but Macbeth, being a slightly indulgent father, found her spirit, like everything else about her, nothing but charming and endearing. He considered Bianca his own darling child. Yet despite his connection to her, Macbeth continued in his hunt for Demona. He spent a principal amount of his time living in and operating out of his various other homes, tracking Demona down as best he could, visiting Bianca at her home on Elba three or four times a year for a month at a time. Even his Bianca could not fully alter his desire for vengeance and death. After all, she had a loving governess to look after her and she would eventually grow accustomed to the idea of him passing away, like all other children had to. Losing the ones you loved was simply a part of growing up. The coming of Goliath's clan to New York, and the events of this past year had changed Macbeth's mind somewhat, leaving him doubting the one conviction that had steadfastly carried him through the centuries…if Goliath was right about Demona, if suicide wasn't the answer…then what was?

It was upon the recent death of Bianca's governess, by now a very valued, loyal friend to Macbeth, that he finally got his revelation: life had simply become too painful for him to carry on like this. He couldn't end it all and leave Bianca alone in the world, but he also couldn't bear the pain of living through her death. He'd already suffered the pain of watching a child die once…he couldn't bear it again. She was all Macbeth had now…and he would safeguard her life and his comfort once and for all with this spell.

Macbeth looked up as the clock struck four, suddenly alarmed. Sunrise was only an hour away…Bianca should have been back by now. He made his way over to the window and scanned the skies for her, his mind racing. Could she have gotten lost? It wasn't likely, Macbeth had taken pains to show her the way himself. And Bianca was too conscientious to lose track of the time. Suddenly seized with fear, Macbeth dashed down to his armory. She wouldn't be hard to find; he'd told her to stay in Central Park for tonight. As he loaded his gun Macbeth silently prayed he was just being paranoid…


	6. Trouble

A little earlier in the evening…Bianca padded softly through the Shakespeare garden, allowing her mind to wander. It had seemed like the appropriate place to go after watching 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' earlier in the evening. Bianca had never seen live theater before; it was simply breathtaking, and the play happened to be one of her favorites, making the experience all the more valuable. All that Bianca really lacked now was a hot dog…it was a shame the vendors didn't stay out this late. For a moment, looking around the deserted garden, Bianca lamented not having anyone to talk to. Her thoughts instantly flew back to the gargoyle in the museum. Bianca plucked a tiger lily and unconsciously chewed one of the petals, banishing him from her mind, as she had had to do throughout the evening. The temptation of knowing there were other gargoyles out there, more people like her, was almost irresistible. Almost.

She looked up suddenly, hearing a rustling in the bushes. The noise disturbed her…it was too big to be a squirrel…a dog perhaps? Cautiously sniffing the air, she very slowly moved away from the garden. It didn't smell like a dog either. With a frown, Bianca looked about, weighing her options. It could easily have been the wind, but she had a strange premonition that it was no longer safe here. The closest shelter was a dense group of trees to the south. They looked tall enough to glide off of…maybe. It was a bit of a distance, but if she ran she could make it. Hearing a new sound Bianca quickly jumped to the side. Something flew just past her head, hitting a rock behind her. Bianca turned to look: it was a dart. Without another moment's hesitation she bolted, racing towards the cover of the trees. As she sprinted away she heard shouting begin behind her. Then, after another minute, the laser blasts.

* * *

Goliath and Brooklyn soared through the air, feverishly scanning the city. Xanatos had explained the situation to them via Elisa, who was waiting with the news and a game plan as soon as the sun had set. All parties agreed now…the gargoyle had to be found, tonight, before the Illuminati got a hold of her. The gargoyles had all split up into pairs to take a different part of the island leaving Bronx behind, each pair taking a radio with them. They could all maintain constant contact with Elisa who would, in turn, relay their messages to one another. Elisa and Matt patrolled the streets in her car, constantly checking the police radio for any signs of a disturbance. Xanatos, meanwhile had been working on tracking the Illuminati's progress and promised to call Elisa if anything came up.

"Goliath, you there?" Elisa's voice came over his ear piece.

"What is it? Have you found something?"

"A tip from Xanatos…he thinks they're in Central Park. I called you first because you should be the closest to it."

Goliath nodded, "Yes…we should be there in two minutes. Alert the others and tell them to meet us there." He looked over at Brooklyn. He flew a little lower than Goliath devoting all of his attention to searching the streets below him, the anxiety evident on his face. "Brooklyn!" He called out. He instantly stretched his wings out a little more, letting them fill with air to raise him to Goliath's height. Silently Goliath pointed to Central Park. Brooklyn nodded briefly, his apprehension instantly heightened. For a moment he looked as if he was going to dive back down and take the lead, but exercising unusual restraint, Brooklyn remained by Goliath's side, following closely behind him. Less than a minute later they saw the laser blasts.

"Lasers!" Brooklyn exclaimed, horrified.

Goliath conjectured, "Probably set to stun or electrify…perhaps we should wait for the others."

"It could be too late by then." Brooklyn answered fearfully, staring down at the park beneath them.

"Yes…let's go." Both gargoyles went into a dive, charging head first into the fray.


	7. The First Fight

They landed in the thick of the woods, and their presence disturbed the armed shooters around them. Goliath and Brooklyn instantly began fighting, taking out one man after another…the Illuminati had spared no expense for this little raid, there were at least a dozen men out there. Brooklyn brought one man down and ran, avoiding a laser blast. Suddenly he was tackled and brought to the ground. Bianca raised her claw with an angry growl, her eyes blazing. Suddenly she halted and gasped, realizing exactly who she'd pinned.

"You!" She exclaimed eagerly.

With a bit of a groan Brooklyn smiled up at her, "You know, we really need to stop meeting like this." Suddenly Bianca shrieked in pain, a dart hitting her right in the side. "Take cover!" Brooklyn exclaimed. He jumped to his feet and took her hand. They both ran off in a panic, diving behind a nearby rock.

Panting Bianca hurriedly whispered, "All this for grand larceny? I shudder to think what these people do when it's murder."

"They're not police." Brooklyn explained, "They're called the Illuminati. And they're here for you." He paused, noticing the dart. "Oh no…" He pulled it out quickly putting his hands on her arms, "Are you alright? Do you feel dizzy?"

Bianca shook her head, confused, "Not really, a little maybe…what was that?"

"A tranquilizer…but you seem alright." He said, examining her pupils.

Bianca snorted, "Alright? I've been in this town for three days and I've got men shooting at me!"

"You ought to be flattered." Brooklyn answered with a playful smile. Before she had a chance to reply, they were pounced on by two more guards. Brooklyn tangled with his briefly, knocking him out just in time to help swat a man off of her. Bianca's reaction time was slowing now…in the course of that last struggle she'd received another dart in the leg. Thankfully, by now the rest of the gargoyles had arrived to even the odds. Before she knew it, the fight was over. Goliath appeared at Bianca's side, extending a hand down to help her up. He made quite an imposing figure, standing above her. She took his hand and stood slowly, now swaying a little on her feet. Looking around and seeing that the gunfire had ceased, Bianca instantly pulled the dart out of her leg and withdrew from the gargoyles, backing away from them silently.

"You don't need to be frightened," Goliath said soothingly, "We mean you no harm."

The tranquilizers coursed through her system, making speech a little difficult. "I…I'm sorry…I mean, thank you for your help, but…I can't…" She stammered nervously, looking over the faces of her rescuers. Her eyes met Brooklyn's, "I'm sorry." With that, Bianca bolted.

"No, wait!" Goliath exclaimed, "It isn't safe-" Brooklyn took off after her, followed closely by Lexington and Angela. It was then that they heard the helicopter above them. As Bianca ran she feverishly tried to clear her head, suddenly her whole sense of direction was gone. She had no idea which way she was going, everything was becoming blurry. Bianca barely noticed that her pace was slowing. All she had to do was get to a building, but all around her all she could see was grass and trees. Once she was off the ground she'd be able to see things more clearly. Macbeth must be getting worried by now. The sound of the chopper above her was muddy in her ears. Bianca felt herself being grabbed from behind and struggled momentarily, but it was no use. There was a gentle hand on her cheek. She was just barely able to recognize her gargoyle before she passed out, the word fading on her lips, "Noooo…"

Brooklyn cradled her in his arms, gently trying to wake her. Beside him Broadway groaned, "Oh, that's not good."

"NO!" They all looked up to see Macbeth standing in the open door of the helicopter, a gun in his hand. He looked absolutely furious.

"Macbeth, wait!" Goliath yelled up, but it was too late. He had already opened fire on them, very careful to avoid Brooklyn, who held Bianca. The gargoyles had no choice, they made a run for it. Once they made it back to the cover of the woods they slowed their run down slightly: the trees had only provided them with minimal protection. They could still hear Macbeth above them.

"He won't listen to reason now." Hudson said hurriedly, "And we need to get out of here before more Illuminati show up!"

"The sewers!" Lexington exclaimed.

Angela agreed, "He can't follow us there."

"Right then, to the sewers!" Goliath agreed, "Brooklyn, give her to me." Brooklyn handed the unconscious gargoyle to Goliath silently. The gargoyles ran back out into the open dodging Macbeth's fierce gunfire until they made it to the road. Broadway knocked the sewer cover away and helped Angela down first. Lexington followed, then Brooklyn, Hudson, Broadway and finally Goliath, the girl slung over his broad shoulder. He looked back up to hear one last angry howl from Macbeth before pulling the sewer cover shut after him.

* * *

Goliath landed safely, shifting the girl from his shoulder back into his arms. Lexington carefully lifted her arm and let it drop, totally limp.

"No point trying to wake her." He said grimly, "She'll be out for hours."

"She won't have time to be out that long, the sun will be up in less than an hour." Sighed Brooklyn.

Angela piped up, "Do you suppose he'll land and try to come down after us?"

"It's entirely possible…let's move, now!" Goliath insisted. They all ran off together. Above them they faintly heard another helicopter approach, accompanied by that familiar police warning.

"Elisa sent a helicopter!" Broadway exclaimed, "That should scare him off."

"Don't be too sure, lad." Hudson said, "Macbeth seems quite reluctant to part with the young lass…he may not be scared off so easily." Indeed, as they sped along they heard one of the helicopters land.

Lexington gasped, "He's coming after us!"

"We can't face him down here." Goliath said quickly, "I've seen Macbeth in a blind rage before, and in this enclosed space he'll make short work of us with his gun…and time is running out."

Angela leapt onto a nearby ladder, "We must be a few blocks away by this point…It would probably be safer to resurface and take to the sky."

"But the police helicopter-" Broadway objected.

"They will be far too busy dealing with Macbeth to notice us." Goliath determined, "We resurface. We'll head back to the castle. Xanatos has the necessary facilities there to hold her."

"Hold her?" Brooklyn asked, dismayed, "Goliath, can we really hold her against her will?"

"It's for her own safety." He insisted firmly. "Until the Illuminati is off her track this girl is officially under our protection." Brooklyn frowned, but didn't object. "Now let's go!"

Angela knocked off the manhole cover and they all quickly climbed through. Hudson resealed the sewer just as they began to hear Macbeth's voice reverberating behind them.


	8. Captive

The following night the gargoyles awoke atop Castle Wyvern. Elisa and Xanatos were both waiting to greet them.

"Good morning." Xanatos said calmly.

"Any news?" Goliath asked.

"None good…" Elisa sighed, "I haven't been able to find a thing on the amulet your little friend took. We have Macbeth's helicopter in custody. Apparently after the police arrived he landed and made a run for it.

Goliath nodded grimly, "Into the sewer?"

"Yeah." Elisa said, slightly surprised.

Hudson frowned, "He was following us." Hudson looked purposefully to Goliath, "The girl seems very important to him for some reason."

"Well, we didn't catch him." Elisa sighed.

Xanatos stepped in, "The Illuminati got a fix on Macbeth's helicopter and traced it back to his house. That's how they found her."

Lex nodded thoughtfully, "They probably saw the arsenal at his place and decided to wait and follow her, see if they couldn't get her alone before they trapped her."

"Meaning that the minute she goes back to Macbeth's they'll have her." Xanatos finished. "But there is one point in our favor. As far as Macbeth knows we're enemies. So this is the last place he'll look for you…and that'll buy us some time."

With a brooding look Goliath muttered, "I wonder what Macbeth is up to…"

"Well, our house guest ought to be awake by now." Xanatos ventured, "Why don't we ask her?"

* * *

The gargoyles, upon entering the room with the electrical holding cell that housed the girl, were a little surprised to find her totally silent, sitting calmly on the floor of her cage.

She looked up as they all came in, "Where am I?" She insisted.

"Hello, I am Goliath, leader of this clan. I apologize for your accommodations, but we feared you would try to flee if left unrestrained. I do assure you, it's for your own safety that you stay."

"You have no right to hold a lady against her will."

"It is a necessary evil." Goliath said evenly. "As I said, we are holding you here for your own protection. The Illuminati are still out there looking for you, and-"

"I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself." She insisted. She was enraged in her own quiet way, Elisa saw from her body language. It was an interesting change from the outright fury her gargoyles displayed when angry.

"Your conduct last night suggests otherwise."

Bianca stood, "I didn't ask for your help and I'm not asking for it now. LET ME GO!"

"Not until you listen to reason."

"Bars obscure my hearing." She countered sarcastically.

Goliath took a deep breath and calmly tried again, "You do not seem to understand. The Illuminati Society is one of the most powerful organizations on this planet. They want to capture you, torture you, and use you as one of their demented experiments. We are keeping you here for no other reason than to keep you safe from them. Where would you go? Back to Macbeth?" Bianca raised her head at the mention of his name. "That is how they tracked you in the first place, from his house. The instant you go back you'll be captured." Her distress was very evident in her face: Bianca wasn't accustomed to hiding her feelings. Goliath saw this as a sign of encouragement to press on. "You can trust us, really…if you talk to us we can help you." Goliath asked, "What connection do you have with Macbeth?" She refused to respond, so Goliath asked another question, "Where do you come from?" Again, no response. "What does Macbeth want with that talisman?" Goliath sighed. The girl was obviously not going to cooperate.

Brooklyn ventured a timid question, "Will you at least tell us your name?"

"Bianca." She answered him softly.

"We mean you no harm, Bianca," Goliath reiterated, "Truly, we are only trying to protect you. This seems to be the only way, at present. At least until the Illuminati are thrown off your trail."

"Now that I know about them I can stay clear," Bianca pleaded, "Please, you don't need to keep me here." She turned her eyes plaintively to Brooklyn, appealing to him silently. He was sympathetic, but one stern look from Goliath and his gaze settled on the floor.

With a pained sigh he murmured, "We…we can't let them hurt you." He avoided her eyes, "Goliath's right, you're better off here." Bianca remained silent for a moment, regarding all of her captors in turn. When she finished looking over them all she slumped over with a sigh of defeat.

"Please make yourself comfortable." Goliath said stiffly as he turned to leave. Xanatos, Elisa and Hudson all followed leaving Bianca with the younger members of the clan.

Bianca waited until he was gone to mutter, "How can I when he says it like that?" She folded her arms and looked at them all in a depressed silence.

Coughing awkwardly, Broadway asked, "Do you, uh, do you want something to eat?"

"We can bring you anything you like." Lexington added in.

"I'm not hungry." Bianca said sullenly. After a slight pause she added, "but thank you."

Angela tried, "Perhaps you'd like a book to read."

"Or we could bring a TV in here for you."

Bianca was unable to keep herself from smiling, "You people sure do know how to make a prisoner feel welcome."

"Well, we wouldn't know." Lexington said pointedly, "We don't have a whole lot of experience with prisoners." They all lapsed back into silence. Bianca had so much she wanted to ask them all, but she'd given her solemn promise to Macbeth and Bianca never went back on her word.

Brooklyn broke the silence, "The other night you said you'd only been here for three days." Bianca frowned; the tenseness of the situation had momentarily loosened her lips. "Don't worry Bianca, I won't force you talk about it if you don't want to…" he soothed her. She wished she could speak to him, it was oddly nice to hear her name pronounced by him. Brooklyn saved her the trouble. "We're actually not from around here either. We all came from Scotland…like Macbeth." Seeing that her interest was piqued, Brooklyn took a deep breath and launched into his story, "You see, a thousand years ago…"

* * *

Matt Bluestone stood in the lobby of Xanatos' building, examining a nearby marble bust. Making a face, he noticed a long, hairline fracture right around the ear. Gently Bluestone ran his finger along it. The ear instantly fell off. Bluestone stood for a moment in horror, unable to move. Hearing a polite cough, Matt wheeled around.

"Detective Bluestone, Mr. Xanatos will see you now." It was Owen Burnette.

"Oh, good." He said uncomfortably, wondering if Owen had noticed the damage he'd inflicted.

Owen beckoned him to follow saying in his impenetrably calm voice, "Yes, fortunately for the décor."

With a blush, Matt glanced back at the statue, "Uh…shoddy building materials."

"Oh yes, solid marble is not generally known to withstand the test of time."

Grinning, Bluestone raised an eyebrow, "Is it my imagination or was that sarcasm I just heard?"

"Your imagination, Sir. This way, please." Owen answered stiffly. After an awkwardly silent elevator ride, Matt had to wait another moment right outside the door to Xanatos' private office. The door opened and Owen stepped aside to let Bluestone in.

"Do come in, Detective." Xanatos called out congenially, standing up and making his way around the desk.

As he walked into the room Matt playfully called back to Owen, "Yeah, so let's do lunch some time, call me!" Owen shot him a blank look and shut the door.

David leaned back on the edge of his desk with a smile, "So Owen tells me you destroyed one of my statues."

Matt tugged on his tie nervously, "Uh yeah…sorry about that. Was it expensive?"

"It's an original Rodin." Matt's face paled, "Don't worry Detective, we'll set you up on some sort of installment plan…how well does that job of yours pay you?" Bluestone shot him a dirty look. "I'm only joking, Detective. That statue was in bad shape any way. I think Owen just leaves it out there to play jokes on unsuspecting guests…his quirky sense of humor."

"Really?"

"No. Now, you had something you wished to discuss with me?"

Matt glanced around the room and took a seat, "The Illuminati's approached me asking for help on the gargoyle project…Seems they've gotten a bit more ambitious."

"It hardly seems possible." Xanatos said dryly, "Go on."

"My job is to be the Illuminati's police contact...keep their hired kidnappers off of police radar and keep them apprised of Detective Maza's movements. The clan's intervention of the girl'scapture has got the Illuminati convinced them that if they got hold of her they could use her as bait to bag the rest."

David nodded, "Unfortunately, not a very far-fetched assumption."

"It gets worse." He grimly continued, "Our brethren have also taken note of Macbeth's interest in the case. They've not only got men on his house, they're shadowing him around the clock."

"I'd already anticipated that…it doesn't bother me too much." David said, waving his concern away. "Macbeth thinks we're enemies, this is the last place he'll look."

"No," Bluestone corrected him, "this is the _only_ place he'll look. Macbeth may think you don't get along, but you're the best lead he has. Sooner or later he will show up here. And with him comes the Illuminati."

"Oh God…you're right." Xanatos muttered, "We need to get the girl out of here."


	9. Getting Acquainted

By the end of Brooklyn's long story Bianca was listening with rapt attention, her face pressed against the bars of her prison.

"It's like a thousand year long soap opera…incredible."

"Yeah," Lex agreed, "Never a dull moment…apart from a thousand or so years encased in solid rock."

Bianca wrapped her claws around the bars, "When you were under Magus's spell, did you dream at all?"

Broadway frowned, "Yeah…about food." The others smiled at him. "That story _always _makes me hungry. I'm gonna grab a bite. Any requests?" Angela stood up with him, clearly intending to join Broadway on his outing.

Lexington nodded, "I wouldn't mind a gyro."

"Yeah, pick me up a hot dog." Brooklyn said. He turned to Bianca, "Want one?"

She nodded, "Actually yes…I'd love one. If you don't mind."

Broadway smiled jovially, "Course not! Back soon." They both exited, leaving Bianca with Lexington and Brooklyn.

"What are your names?" She asked. Their story appeared to have gotten the better of Bianca's curiosity. After all, technically Bianca wasn't breaking her promise…she hadn't sought them out and she wasn't telling them anything. What could it hurt to ask questions?

Lexington explained, "Well, back in Scotland our clan didn't go by names…except Goliath."

"What did you do, point at each other?"

"Sometimes." Lex agreed, her sarcasm lost on him. She and Brooklyn shared a secret little smirk. "At any rate, when we got here we named ourselves. I'm Lexington." He stuck his hand through the bars and shook hers, "Glad to meet you, Bianca. The fat one who just left with Angela is Broadway."

"And then there's Goliath, and the cop is Elisa, and the businessman was David Xanatos…what about the elder?" Bianca thoughtfully listed them all, recalling one or two names from the story.

"He's called Hudson."

She smiled, "My, but you're a creative bunch, aren't you?"

With a shrug Lex said, "Yeah, it's not our strong suit, I guess. And of course there's Bronx, oh, but you haven't met him yet…we should bring him down to see you."

"And I'm Brooklyn."

With a smile, Bianca reached her hand out, "Nice to meet you, Brooklyn." He gently shook her hand.

"Nice to finally meet you too, Bianca."

"Brooklyn…" She said slowly, "I like that. It suits you somehow."

"Yeah, well all the really hip people live in Brooklyn nowadays so that makes sense." He said, feigning arrogance. They both exchanged another amused glance. Lexington shot an insinuating look at his brother, prompting Brooklyn to quickly withdraw his hand with a slight blush. "Uh, you know, you're right Lex. I'll bring Bronx down to meet her. Excuse me." He got up and left quickly, suddenly anxious to be out of the room. Bianca's eyes followed him out of the room, suddenly called back when Lexington asked, "So how do you like New York so far?"

"I love it." She smiled.

"Good." Lexington said with a toothy grin. "I mean, it sure is a change, but you get used to it…Still, sometimes I miss Scotland…my brothers and sisters…you know."

Bianca frowned, "No…but I can imagine."

"I do love it here though…the food, the buildings, the technology…" He explained, "I'm really into computers and robotics and stuff…I'm sort of the resident expert."

"And so modest too."

With a blush Lex stammered, "Well, I didn't mean…it's the only thing I'm really good for around here." He softly explained, "Apart from that…sometimes I feel a little useless."

Bianca smiled, "It was a joke, Lexington…and I'm sure you're very useful…in a lot of ways."

He rubbed the back of his neck with a laugh, "Sorry, I guess I'm still a little new to sarcasm." She jumped slightly startled as she heard a loud barking.

"What's that?" She asked.

"That's Bronx." Bianca looked slightly puzzled. Bronx bounded into the room and trotted right over to her cage with a loud bark, eager to meet someone new. Delighted, Bianca reached her arms out to pet him.

She gasped, "A puppy! Oh he's so cute! I've never seen a gargoyle dog before…I didn't even know there was such a thing." Bianca scratched him behind the ears, "How adorable." With a happy little growl Bronx took a seat beside her, extremely pleased to have such a fuss made over him. "Hello Bronx." She held a hand out for him to sniff, which Bronx promptly began to lick.

"I think he likes you." Brooklyn said, leaning against the doorframe.

"I just love dogs," Bianca enthused, "I've always wanted one…or any kind of a pet, really, but Father-" She halted and looked up at the two gargoyles. Guiltily she sank back into silence, focusing all of her attention on petting Bronx. The two boys looked at one another and sighed.

"So…" Brooklyn asked slowly, "Anyone read any good books lately?" They all looked up as Elisa walked in.

"Hey guys." She said, "how are we all getting along?"

Lexington smiled, "Just fine."

Elisa walked over and gave Bronx's head a pat, "Feeling anymore talkative?" She asked, not looking up.

"Not especially."

She looked up at the gargoyle, "You're only making this all more difficult."

Withdrawing her hands from Bronx Bianca asked, "For you or for me?"

Elisa sighed, "Come on Bianca, we're not the bad guys here." She urged her. Bianca stubbornly folded her arms. "Well…you just think about that for a while. Lex, I need your help upstairs, do you mind?" Lexington stood up and followed Elisa out waving a quick goodbye to Bianca. Brooklyn and Bianca watched them exit, timidly turning back to one another.

* * *

Macbeth ran his hands through his hair with a ragged sigh. He'd spent half of the morning hunting in the sewers, hoping to both find the by then stone gargoyles and outrun the police. He'd managed to avoid arrest, but unfortunately the clan had managed to make it out before sunrise…with Bianca. The rest of the day was wasted wracking his brain, trying to think of anywhere the gargoyles might have taken her. With an angry snarl he slammed a fist against his desk. Goliath was a self-righteous creature; he'd probably seen Bianca and taken it upon himself to decide she belonged with her own kind…whatever his justification may have been, he simply had no right to kidnap and hold a young girl against her will. Macbeth was so worried about her…He'd seen Bianca faint, suppose they had harmed her? It seemed out of character for the clan to behave in such a way. Their motivation was no concern of his. Macbeth just wanted his child back…and so far he hadn't come up with any good ideas. Manhattan was a big city. The gargoyles could be hiding anywhere.

With a sudden thought Macbeth turned to his computer and punched in a few numbers. He gazed at the screen stifling a yawn: there wasn't time to sleep now while Bianca was still unaccounted for. Leaning back in his seat Macbeth took a look at the map before him: it was a long shot, but at least it was somewhere to start. Now all he had to do was arrange some transportation…

* * *

"Are…you comfortable?" Brooklyn ventured gallantly, "Anything I can get you?"

"How about a skeleton key?"

Brooklyn reiterated dryly, "Anything _realistic_ I can get you?"

Trying to suppress a smile Bianca said, "Your brothers are curiously lacking in sarcasm…I find that a little odd having met you."

"I'm trying to introduce them to it in easy stages." He answered with a smile. "But I always appreciate help from an expert."

She raised an eyebrow, "So I'm an expert? Why Brooklyn, I'm honored."

"Well your conversational skills are certainly better than your burgling skills, let's put it that way." Bianca was at a loss for words for a moment, both amused and stunned at his impertinence.

"Do you always talk to people you've just met like this?"

Faltering, Brooklyn admitted, "Well no, I've never met anyone quite like you before." Bianca turned her eyes back to the floor, her face growing warm. Was he actually flirting with her? It was hard to tell in real life, harder than she thought it would be. People were so much clearer in movies. No he probably wasn't, Bianca decided slightly disappointed. Brooklyn looked like he regretted saying it at all. He was blushing furiously…and here Bianca had thought his complexion couldn't get any redder. It was awfully cute on him.

"So Goliath's the leader, Lex is the computer genius…what are you supposed to be?" she asked gently, hoping he'd forget his embarrassment.

"Uhm…comic relief?" Her laughter relaxed Brooklyn a little. "I'm Goliath's second in command."

"Really?"

Brooklyn rubbed the back of his neck, "Don't look too impressed now, I'm not very good at it."

She smiled, "You don't think so?"

"Well hey, you're a terrible thief and you still managed to get away, so what does that say about me?" They both laughed a little.

Bianca countered, "I didn't get away the second time, now did I? So you can't be all that bad. How did you find me in the park anyway?"

He explained, "We heard the Illuminati were after you so we split up and searched the city for you. It was just a coincidence that Goliath and I were the ones closest to the park when the shooting started."

Playfully Bianca sighed, "Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, I just had to walk into yours."

"Casablanca." Brooklyn knowingly smiled. Amazed, Bianca stared at him.

"You…you know Casablanca?" She asked softly.

"Sure I do, it's a classic."

Bianca pressed her face close to the bars, "Movies are my life, I'm obsessed with them," She explained, "They're basically the closest thing I had to human contact…gave me a lot of silly ideas about what life is really like." Bashfully she lowered her eyes, "It's a wonder I'm not completely socially inept, I think."

Encouragingly, Brooklyn smiled, "I think you do better than some people who've had human contact all their lives."

"And I think you'd make a fine leader." Bianca answered. When he shook his head Bianca looked at him sympathetically, "But why not, Brooklyn?"

"I'm too impetuous. I rush into things without thinking." He looked down at his feet with a sad smile, "Not exactly a good quality for a leader, is it?"

Shyly Bianca leaned a little closer, "I think it's kind of charming, actually."

"You do?"

"Well sure…" Bianca withdrew a little, suddenly conscious that she was becoming a bit too friendly with her captor, "in an awkward, clumsy kind of a way."

"Oh, well everyone knows that's the best kind of charming there is." They exchanged another dopey set of smiles.

"Sorry it took so long!" Broadway announced loudly stomping back into the room. "We uh, we got lost." Angela glared at him. "Well, maybe not lost exactly." Seeing that Angela was still glaring at him Broadway reluctantly confessed, "I ate your hot dogs by accident, we had to go back and get more." He turned to Angela, "Happy!"

Angela gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Honesty is always the best policy, Broadway."

"Or at least the one with the best reward." He grinned, winking to Brooklyn. Vaguely annoyed, Angela smacked his belly. Bianca laughed lightly, thanking Broadway as he handed her a hot dog. "So what were you guys talking about?" Brooklyn stared down at his hot dog. Seeing Broadway and Angela together had reminded him of the danger he was in. Brooklyn _would not_ keep repeating this same mistake over and over again; he _would not_ have feelings for Bianca. It was all in his mind, it always was, even if it did feel different this time …he looked over at Bianca…very different…

Brooklyn steeled himself, he was being ridiculous. She was only going to cause him trouble and pain; pain that could be avoided. Protectively folding his wings Brooklyn turned his back on Bianca and coldly replied, "Nothing interesting. You guard the prisoner, I'm…I'm sick of being cooped up in here." He handed his hot dog to Broadway and turned to leave.

"Hey, don't you want it?" Broadway asked, holding the hot dog out to him. Brooklyn halted at the door and shot a furtive glance back to Bianca: She looked hurt, confused.

Feeling a sudden surge of guilt he mumbled, "No, I've lost my appetite." With that he hurried out, suddenly anxious to be as far away from Bianca as possible.

* * *

"Sir?"

"Yes?"

"We have movement. The contact left not two minutes ago."

The hooded figure smiled, "Excellent. Instruct your men to proceed with caution, they should follow far enough behind so as not to arouse his suspicion...and Captain?"

"Yes Sir?"

"If he leads you to more than one gargoyle you're not to advance right away, but call in for backup. I want no less than four squadrons in position before you make a move. We cannot afford to lose them again."

The Captain looked troubled, "With all due respect Sir, are so many necessary? Waiting for backup will take time and-"

"Your predecessor chose not to follow my instructions, Captain. I don't think I need to tell you where he ended up after last night's...unfortunate fiasco, do I?"

Paling, the Captain nodded, "No Sir."

"I thought not. No slip ups, Captain, no more unwanted attention. I want those gargoyles and I want them with a minimum of fuss. If you cannot deliver then I assure you I could find someone among your company more suited for the position. Is that what you want, Captain?"

"The-the gargoyles will be in your custody by the end of the night, Sir." He stammered.

"Thank you Captain, that will be all for now."


	10. A Hasty Retreat

Elisa looked up as the clicking of Lexington's talons on the computer keys suddenly stopped.

"Well?"

Lexington's eyes moved across the screen, "Gimmie a minute… 'The Moon Pendulum', alright…I dunno Elisa, it's all pretty standard stuff. Gold and sapphire, it was a piece used to conduct rites of death…"

"Any magical properties?"

"None listed." Elisa sighed with frustration. She looked up suddenly as Lex said, "Oh wait a minute…this is interesting…" They both looked up as Xanatos and Goliath entered the room, and from the looks on their faces they had bigger problems.

"We need to move, now." Goliath said hastily.

Elisa looked up, "What? Why, what's happened?"

David explained, "Macbeth is most likely on his way here right now. I can steer him in the wrong direction, but all of the gargoyles _have_ to leave. The Illuminati's put a trace on Macbeth, the minute he shows up here they're sure to find them all."

Pacing, Goliath growled, "We need to leave quickly and efficiently. Bianca isn't going to go quietly."

Coolly Xanatos replied, "Well you got her here easily enough."

"Yes, but she was drugged…" Goliath trailed off as it dawned on him. David grinned suggestively. Narrowing his eyes, Goliath said, "The way your mind works frightens me, Xanatos."

He nodded, "Yes, I even scare myself sometimes."

"Very well." Goliath sighed uneasily, "We'll sedate her. But how-"

"Leave that to me." Xanatos answered quickly, opening another door. "Coming Goliath?"

Goliath turned to Elisa, "Inform the rest of the clan. We leave in five minutes."

* * *

All of the gargoyles save Brooklyn were assembled by the time Goliath and Xanatos reached Bianca's prison. Bianca stood, very much aware that something was going on.

She wrapped her hands around the bars as Goliath walked in.

"Okay, I'll bite…what's going on?"

Goliath explained, "We are moving you to a safer location."

"How thoughtful." She answered dryly. "Goliath, please…let me go. It'll save me the trouble of having to escape."

"The situation has already been explained to you. If you still refuse to cooperate, that is not my problem."

Insistently, Bianca stated, "I _do_ refuse to cooperate. And if you think I'm just going to sit back and let you 'move me to a safer location' then you've got another thing coming. Once you open this cage all bets are off!"

"I don't think that'll be a problem." David answered. He took out a gun and aimed it at Bianca, shooting a dart into her arm.

"What-" She grasped her arm in pain, yanking the dart out.

"A harmless tranquilizer, my dear…the same kind the Illuminati used on you last night, ironically." As he spoke she stared down at the dart in her hand thoughtfully. She let it drop and looked up at Xanatos. Bianca narrowed her eyes and snarled at him angrily, swaying on her feet. The gargoyles watched silently as she dropped to the floor unmoving.

With a grim nod Goliath turned to the others, "Alright…Broadway you carry her, I'll take the lead. We'll bring her to Talon. She'll be safe there. Agreed?" His clan nodded. "Then let us go." They opened up the cell and Broadway carefully foisted the girl up onto his shoulder, following the others out of the room.

* * *

He was sitting so still Elisa almost walked right past him without noticing, but with the skilled eye of a trained detective she saw Brooklyn hunched over in the shadows and made her way over to him.

"Hey Brook…you need to get downstairs right now. Macbeth is about to show up so you all need to relocate."

With a snort Brooklyn turned away from her, "They can go ahead…I'll hang back and take up the rear…they're moving Bianca?" Elisa nodded slowly. "She won't like that."

"They're going to sedate her first." She explained. Brooklyn nodded sullenly without turning to look at her. The concern was evident on Elisa's face.

"I'm fine." He said briefly to her unasked question. Quietly Elisa sat beside him.

"You like her, don't you?" She asked gently. Brooklyn didn't need to answer. With a groan he put his hands over his head.

"Oh God, why do I always do this to myself!" He exclaimed in frustration. Getting to his feet, Brooklyn paced in front of Elisa, rambling. "It doesn't matter. You don't need to worry about me, Elisa, not this time. This time things are going to be different, you'll see. I'm going to do this right, I can beat this…I'll just keep away from her. I mean, if I don't talk to her then I can't…y'know…" He shot her a plaintive look, "Well?"

"Well…" Elisa said with a sigh, "You're certainly approaching this differently."

Brooklyn muttered bitterly, "Well then chances are I'm doing something right."

"Let me ask you this, Brooklyn…what was it that attracted you to Maggie and Angela?"

He paused thoughtfully, "Well…they were girls, and they weren't trying to kill me. That's pretty much par for the course with me."

Elisa turned to him, "But you're not attracted to Angela now, are you?"

"No, not at all."

"Why?"

Resuming his seat beside her, Brooklyn explained, "She's too…I mean, she's a lot like Goliath, really." He drew his knees up, "Stubborn, direct, serious…don't get me wrong, I love them both, I mean Goliath…well, he's Goliath there's no way not to like him, and Angela's like a sister to me now. But…we're not compatible."

"Well," suggested Elisa, "You seem to have your priorities pretty well in order now, even if you didn't then, don't you think?"

"I guess." He shrugged.

"Then is it possible you like Bianca for her own sake? I gotta say Brooklyn, you two seem a lot alike. You certainly get along well together."

"Well yeah," he said thoughtfully, "But…I just don't know."

Elisa put a hand on his shoulder, "Sometimes you have to ride things out and see where they take you. You weren't an idiot for falling for Maggie or Angela. People are allowed to have crushes, they're allowed to like people who won't always like them back. It's not a crime. And you know what? Everyone gets rejected. So that's no reason to try and shut everyone out. Maybe you weren't doing anything wrong by taking a chance on them, maybe you should just follow your instincts and let yourself like Bianca. Goliath was right, you need to learn to trust yourself, Brooklyn."

"I guess I do." He murmured softly, letting his head rest on his arms.

David strolled out, "Ah, Detective, I've just- Brooklyn? What are you still doing here? The rest of the clan's already left…you need to get out of here before Macbeth shows up."

"Yeah, I know." Brooklyn said, "I thought I'd bring up the rear…make sure no one's following them."

Xanatos nodded, "Not a bad idea at that…but I think we're in the clear, now."

"Went well?" Elisa asked.

"Without a hitch," Xanatos responded, "One dart, she was out like a light. They're heading to Talon right now. Macbeth could be here at any moment so Brooklyn, you probably ought to-"

Suddenly Brooklyn jumped to his feet, "Did you say one dart!" He asked hurriedly.

Caught off-guard, David said, "Yes..." In a panic Brooklyn silently cursed to himself. Last night the others had only seen her get the dart in the leg. They didn't know it had taken two to knock her out…

"Brooklyn? What's wrong?" Elisa called out as he scrambled out to the ledge.

"No time!" He yelped back, jumping off and spreading his wings. He only hoped he reached them before Bianca did something stupid…


	11. Misunderstandings

The gargoyles landed on a nearby rooftop and looked back up at Castle Wyvern. They were probably far enough away now that they could relax.

With a frown Goliath looked over the faces of his clan, "Where's Brooklyn?"

Hudson pointed back to the castle, "There." They saw a faint, distant figure jump from the castle and glide towards them. "Keeping behind a few lengths in case of trouble, no doubt."

"Yes…" Goliath murmured to himself, casting a glance back at Broadway who carried Bianca over his shoulder.

"Should we wait for him?" Lex asked.

"No…" Goliath decided, "We're still too close to the castle. Best to move further out before we stop. Besides, I'm sure Brooklyn knows where we're heading."

* * *

Brooklyn moved as quickly as he could. He could see the gargoyles up ahead, but they were still too far away to call out to them. All he could do was hope that they stayed put long enough for him to reach them. Hearing a familiar sound, Brooklyn looked up.

"Oh great…" He groaned, going into a quick dive.

* * *

"Do you hear that?" Angela asked. The gargoyles all looked up as a helicopter passed overhead. It was definitely Macbeth's.

Goliath growled, "That was close, but I don't think he saw us…we must stay quiet and move quickly."

"He's heading for the castle..." Hudson muttered, "But I thought the police took his helicopter, how did Macbeth get it back so quickly?"

"Guys!" They all looked up as Broadway yelped out in pain. Before they knew it Broadway fell right into them, knocking Goliath and Hudson off of their feet. They all looked up in horror as Macbeth's helicopter quickly circled back around, coming right towards them.

"What happened?" Lex shouted.

Broadway shook his head in a daze, "I…I dunno, one minute I had her and then-" Goliath got to his feet just in time to see Bianca. She was off and running at breakneck speed, already at least two building tops away.

"But how did she…" Angela murmured.

"No time!" Goliath shouted, "We need to bring her back now before-" It was too late. Goliath barely had time to jump out of the way and avoid a shot from the helicopter's canon. He quickly discovered that it wasn't a shot, it was a net. Goliath was clear, but Hudson wasn't so lucky. The net dropped on him, and Hudson roared in pain as an electrical current surged through it. "Hudson!" Goliath howled angrily as his old friend dropped to the ground unconscious. "Go, bring her back." He ordered Broadway and Lexington, "We'll take care of Macbeth." Her eyes glowing, Angela let out a war cry and took to the air, Goliath following close behind. Macbeth was ready for her. He threw open the door of the helicopter and mounted a large gun on his shoulder.

"Come on then." He grunted, waiting for her to move a little closer. When Angela was in range he fired the gun. Gracefully, she ducked the first blast only to receive the second electrical bolt square in the chest. Broadway saw as Angela began to fall and with a cry of horror flew to her aid.

"Broadway no! We need to-" With a sigh Lexington turned and continued to give chase to Bianca by himself, but he was still many lengths behind the frantic girl. Broadway caught Angela just as Goliath reached the tail of the helicopter.

"Just the gargoyle I wanted to see." Macbeth said coolly. Before he had a chance to speak, Macbeth flipped a switch on the inside of the doorway, electrifying the exterior of the hull. Hearing the dull hum of electricity Goliath hastily released his hold on the aircraft and began to fall. Macbeth took this opportunity to aim and hit the retreating Broadway in the wing with a bullet. Goliath stretched his wings out, caught an updraft and made his way back up to Macbeth. No longer able to support both him and Angela on a torn wing Broadway plummeted out of control, just barely able to manage a crash landing on a nearby fire escape. As Goliath approached Macbeth leapt out of the helicopter and ignited a jet pack, ramming right into Goliath. They wrestled breathlessly for a few moments mid air. As Macbeth grabbed Goliath's wing with one hand, the gargoyle ripped the jetpack from his back. The propulsion tank flew off into the sky leaving Macbeth to fall. He kept firm hold of Goliath's wing dragging him down with him. Goliath haphazardly collapsed on the rooftop, Macbeth landing right beside him.

"Goliath!" Lexington yelled out, scrambling back towards them both. Without a second thought Macbeth whipped out another gun and shot a bolas at the small, swiftly approaching gargoyle. Lexington fell, totally entangled in the heavy rope. As he feverishly worked to extricate himself, and as Broadway slowly clawed his way back up the side of the building with an unconscious Angela on his back, Goliath and Macbeth found themselves alone, cautiously circling one another.

* * *

Bianca paused to catch her breath. She must have outrun them by now…heaving a sigh of relief Bianca looked around. Finding the right moment to run was easier than she'd anticipated. They were all thrown into confusion when the helicopter arrived, and once Hudson confirmed it was Macbeth…well, that was all she needed. She'd jumped on the opportunity and made a break for it. So far, so good. Now that she had put enough distance between her and them she just had to find Macbeth. It was strange; when she was pretending to be unconscious she'd heard the helicopter heading in this direction, back towards the castle, but now she didn't see it. Bianca had been concentrating so hard on escaping she hadn't heard the aircraft circle back around, or processed that the ensuing sounds were anything more than the gargoyles yelling. She turned back around and saw, now many rooftops away, Goliath and Macbeth circling one another, ready to fight. With a gasp she opened her mouth to shout out to him. Before Bianca had a chance she was tackled from behind, knocking the wind out of her. Pinned to the roof, she struggled to yell out to Macbeth again just as a hand clamped over her mouth.

Brooklyn whispered, "Sorry Bianca, I can't let you do that." Furiously she writhed beneath him, desperate to pull herself free. "Calm down, just relax, please!" Brooklyn pleaded, "The Illuminati are trailing him, they'll be here any second now. If he comes after you so do they, and then that's it. I'm sorry, but Macbeth can't see you." Bianca tried to jerk her head free to no avail. "I'm trying to help you, don't you get that!" Brooklyn said, frustrated. Bianca shot him an expressive glance of anger. Wincing, he murmured, "Please, don't look at me like that. Do you think I like doing this to you? Believe me, this isn't what I want. I just- I can't let anything to happen to you, that's all." Incredulously, she narrowed her bright eyes. "Please believe me Bianca." Brooklyn said gently, "I want to protect you. You do believe me, don't you?" he asked plaintively. Underneath him Bianca had stopped struggling. She looked up at him with wide eyes and nodded slowly.

* * *

David Xanatos gazed out the window of his office, hands clasped behind his back, his brow furrowed.

Elisa Maza walked in, "Well? Did they make it away alright?"

"Not quite, Detective." He sighed, pointing to the hovering helicopter.

"Macbeth!" Elisa said in a panic, pulling out her gun. "Have the Illuminati shown up yet?"

David shook his head still quietly staring out the window, "No, but rest assured, they will."

Loading her gun Elisa rolled her eyes, "Your confidence overwhelms me."

Turning around Xanatos asked, "Would you prefer mindless optimism, Detective?"

"No, but I could use some help." She snapped back, "What building is that?"

"Just an old apartment complex. If you're going to go you should hurry."

Elisa nodded, "And what about you?"

"I can't be directly involved. If the Illuminati finds out I'm helping you at all I'll lose my life."

"I see, so you're willing to help as long as it doesn't mean actually sticking your neck out, how chivalrous of you. What a valuable friend, Xanatos, it _would _be a shame to lose your life, wouldn't it?" She answered dryly.

"If I do, _you'll _lose the connection to the Illuminati." Xanatos countered, looking her square in the eye. Elisa hesitated. Interpreting her sudden silence, Xanatos smiled coldly. "Well…seems we're all capable of a certain amount of pettiness, aren't we? Good day, Detective Maza."

"We'll discuss this later." She called back running out of the room. David Xanatos remained motionless by the window until he was certain Elisa was out of sight. Hastily he pulled out his phone.

"Detective Bluestone?"

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Where is she?" Macbeth demanded quietly.

Goliath shook his head, "Macbeth, please let me explain…"

"To hell with your explanations Goliath, bring me the girl." He snapped back.

"What is she to you?"

"That's none of your business. You have no right to interfere, even less to hold an innocent child against her will."

Goliath put his hands up, "It was for her own protection. We are not your enemies Macbeth, we did not mean-"

He cut him off, "Don't hand me that. I know perfectly well what you think…you think that she belongs with you, that you have some greater right to her because she's of your kind."

"You have been acquainted with me long enough to know that if that is really what I thought I would have told you so openly. It is not in my nature to be secretive or manipulative. Our clan has no claim on Bianca, nor do we pretend to. Now may we speak rationally?"

Hesitantly Macbeth nodded, still on his guard, "Very well, I'm listening."

"Do you know of the secret organization called the Illuminati?"

"Aye…it's centuries old, supposed to run much of the world, I think. What do they have to do with it?"

Goliath explained, "They have a morbid interest in 'studying' gargoyles. The Illuminati have been trying to hunt down our clan for some time now with little success. Somehow they found out about your 'friend'. They've been tracking you ever since, waiting for an opportunity to capture her. Last night in the park we were lucky enough to intervene, but not before the agents of the Illuminati shot her with a sedative. Seeing as they had agents following you, and since you did not appear to be in any humor to discuss the matter last night, we took it upon ourselves to protect Bianca for the time being, until such time as the Illuminati were dissuaded."

"I see." Macbeth murmured, putting his hands down. Goliath, taking this as a truce, went over to Hudson who had since regained consciousness and helped extricate him from the net. "And why should I believe you?" Macbeth asked warily, watching as Angela and Broadway finally reached the rooftop. Angela began to approach Macbeth, but Goliath raised a hand to halt her, sending her off to help untangle Lexington.

"We are both men of our words." Goliath answered, "And I believe you know that." He paused, attempting an apology, "I am sorry Macbeth, but believe me, I had no other choice open to me."

"Just as you say…" Macbeth sighed. "I apologize Goliath, to you and your clan. It seems I may have…overreacted."

"Overreacted!" Broadway snorted, "I'll say!" Lexington elbowed him and Broadway dutifully lapsed into silence. Thankfully, Macbeth was too preoccupied to respond. Instead he mused, "But if this is all true then why hasn't the Illuminati descended upon us yet?"

Goliath scanned the skies, his mood darkening, "I assure you, they were following you. They probably saw our struggle, how many of us there were and sent out for backup…it won't be long now."

"Where is Bianca, will she be safe?" Macbeth asked anxiously. The gargoyles were caught off-guard by the tone of worry in his voice.

"You seem uncommonly concerned for her safety." Observed Goliath.

Macbeth answered evenly, pointing to Angela, "No more than you would be for hers." Shocked, Goliath opened his mouth to ask a question, but never had the chance. A large laser blast ripped through the air forcing them all to take cover.


	12. Gaining the Upper Hand

Brooklyn and Bianca were startled by the sudden laser blast.

"Oh God, they found them." In a panic, Bianca bit Brooklyn's hand. He reflexively withdrew from her with a yelp of pain. Scrambling to her feet Bianca ran to the ledge of the building, yelling out to Macbeth.

"Father!" Brooklyn grabbed her by the arms and forced her back down.

"Are you insane, they'll see you!" He yelped. Suddenly Brooklyn paused, his eyes widening, "Wait a minute…_'Father'_?"

* * *

"Father!" Macbeth heard the scream and looked up just in time to see Brooklyn forcefully drag her away from the ledge.

"Bianca!" He cried out, dashing to the edge of the building. By now the roof top was ablaze with gunfire.

Goliath made one weak attempt to stop him, "No Macbeth, wait! It isn't safe…" But he was many rooftops away by now, racing towards Bianca. At the moment Goliath had bigger problems to contend with. With a roar he ripped up some of the metal sheeting from the roof, using it as a shield against the gunfire.

"Goliath!" Lexington yelled out to him, "We've got a dozen more guys air born on jetpacks."

"How many on the ground?" He asked Hudson.

"Twenty at least." He growled, pulling out his sword, "It looks like this may be it, Goliath."

"Hardly." Goliath answered, "Lexington, Angela, you take to the sky. The rest of you with me. Scatter, try to split them up." The gargoyles all bolted in different directions.

* * *

By the time Macbeth had reached the building top, his gun was already drawn, his finger on the trigger. He climbed over the edge and Bianca rushed to him, throwing her arms around his neck, "I knew you'd find me!"

"Oh Bianca, Bianca…" He sighed, embracing her, "thank God you're safe." Brooklyn began to approach the ledge, anxious for his clan. He hadn't taken two steps when Macbeth leveled the gun at his chest. "As for you…" He growled angrily.

Bianca grabbed his arm, "Father, no!"

Nervously Brooklyn put his hands up, "Whoa…hang on, you've got the wrong idea, I wasn't trying to-" The blast from his gun knocked Brooklyn over. He cried out in pain, grasping his injured arm.

"Brooklyn!" Bianca cried out, pulling away from Macbeth to rush over to him.

"Bianca…" Macbeth murmured, stunned. He watched horrified as she dropped to her knees beside Brooklyn, tears in her eyes.

"Oh no…" She brought a hand to his face, "Oh Brooklyn…I'm so sorry…" Macbeth took her arm and pulled Bianca to her feet.

Sternly he dragged her away, "We're leaving. Now."

"But…but he's hurt! We can't just-"

Macbeth pushed a button on his belt and his hovering helicopter began to move, "You're safe now, that's all that matters." The helicopter stopped above them. Another press of the button and a rope ladder dropped.

"No, this is wrong. They need our help." She objected.

"Let me worry about that. We've got our own problems. Now get on board." Macbeth answered coldly.

Stubbornly Bianca folded her arms, "I can't believe you!"

"We can discuss this inside." Macbeth said hastily, eyeballing the ensuing struggle a few rooftops off, "Now quickly, we need to get you out of here before they spot us." Bianca shot a hesitant look back at Brooklyn. He was just getting back to his feet, clutching his arm to stop the bleeding as he looked back at her. "Young lady, I said MOVE." Macbeth finished angrily. Reluctantly, Bianca turned and climbed up the rope. Macbeth watched to see that she had safely gotten into the helicopter before grabbing hold of the ladder himself. He cast a smoldering glare at Brooklyn and retreated into the aircraft.

* * *

Broadway grabbed two nearby men by their belts, bodily slamming them into one another. The armor of the now unconscious soldiers made a soft clunking sound as he hastily dropped them back on the ground focusing his energies on the next two mercenaries in his path.

"Hey, you know this isn't so bad." Broadway grunted, sending another three flying, "Get enough of these guys close together and it's like fish in a barrel…no matter which way I turn, I've always got something to hit. Hell, this is easy!" He and Hudson both dove to the ground and covered their heads as another laser blast hit close by. "Except for those…" Broadway grunted, "I hate those."

"Aye, laddie…can't argue with you there." Hudson agreed leaning slightly on his sword to help him back to his feet.

Goliath himself was on the opposite end of the rooftop, sizing up the relative strength of his enemies' positions. The gargoyles were making a dent in their numbers, but not enough of one. Unless help came, and soon, things were going to start looking very grim indeed. Only then did it become clear to Goliath that help was in fact racing towards them even as they spoke. The sound of police sirens grew louder in the distance. Goliath attacked with renewed strength. Somewhere in the back of his mind it occurred to him how unusual it was that the police were responding so quickly. After all, the battle had only begun moments ago.

His curiosity was instantly arrested by yet another new development. The deafening sound of helicopter blades beating the air above him told Goliath that Macbeth was back again…and this time he was on the right side. Two electrified nets dropped down from the chopper in rapid succession, each one capturing a dozen men or so, easily. He then opened fire, sending the men below scattering. Goliath surveyed the rooftop once more: now these were odds he could handle. In a matter of moments the force on the roof was decimated leaving only a handful of air born troops to run aground, and the police sirens now rang out clearly through the night. They would be descending upon them at any moment now. Clearly aware of this, Macbeth's helicopter turned about and made a hasty retreat. Silently Goliath watched it disappear into the night sky before taking flight himself. These last few men needed their wings clipped fast…once that was done, the police could handle it from there.


	13. Assessing the Situation

_I tell you, the people on this site are hardcore supportive...it's ridiculous and I love it. I'm really sorry it's been taking me so long to get this whole thing out there...I have attention span problems, but I WILL get it all up soon, I SWEAR. If you want to see more and you suspect me of being lazy and taking too long please review and heckle me until I post again...I need the motivation. Oh, I should probably also take this opportunity to remind you (in case you were burning with curiosity) I don't own the Gargoyles at all (gasp!) and if YOU do please don't sue me, I'm not worth it._

Sergeant Mercer surveyed the damage to the rooftop with a low whistle.

"Man, I haven't seen this much firepower since Vietnam."

"Sir?"

"Well Jameson?" Grumbled Mercer, "What the hell happened here? Report."

"Uh, we're…we're still not entirely sure, Sir. Some kind of fight between this lot and a helicopter. We've got thirty men in custody now, Sir, but uh, they're not talking. The presence of heavy artillery alone is enough for an arrest. We're just rounding up some of the vans now to bring them back to the station. But God…what a mess. Lucky we got that tip when we did, huh Sarge?"

"Yes…" Sergeant Mercer frowned, thinking of the hurried tip off that had led them here. Oddly enough the tip off came to the wrong department. Apparently a detective, someone named Bluestone, had received the anonymous call and bounced it over to Mercer. The funny thing was that this detective wasn't even on phone duty so whoever called him must have had his number or asked for him personally. Sergeant Mercer scratched his head. What he wouldn't have given to know who had called something like this in… "What about this helicopter then?"

"Gone I'm afraid, Sir. We've got two trucks and an aircraft below that these men seem to have arrived in, they all bear the same insignia as their uniforms…"

Mercer growled, "Let's get right to it, is there any sign at all of who these men were fighting?"

"No Sir, none...but…"

"But?"

"Well Sir, the first unit on the scene did say they…uhm…they saw some activity just as they reached the roof. Men, only…on wings…like giant bats."

"Men on wings. Giant bats." Sergeant Mercer rolled his eyes, "Giant bats did this." He pointed to the battle-scarred rooftop, in the corner of which sat thirty or so mercenaries, all neatly bound in what looked like extra strength fishing netting. All tied up and ready to go. "Well that's just great. Jameson, I want these men at the station and booked within the hour. And have the first unit report to medical to be treated for shock."

"Yes Sir."

Several rooftops away a pair of inquisitive eyes ducked back out of sight.

"The police are leaving now, Goliath." Lexington said.

"Good. We shall wait until they have moved out completely before returning to the castle." He frowned, vaguely concerned that they might decide to send a helicopter out to survey the surrounding area. But the police seemed satisfied enough for the time being...they appeared to be pulling out entirely. Helicopters brought another thought swimming to the foreground of his mind. "Do we know if Macbeth was followed when he escaped?"

"He wasn't." Brooklyn answered grimly, "At least not as far as I can tell."

"Well that's something, at least." Goliath sighed, surveying the damage to the building.

"He took Bianca." Brooklyn continued, waiting for some kind of response from his leader.

Stirring from his thoughts Goliath turned to regard his brethren, "It's been a busy night…and I think we could all use some rest."

"Did you hear me?" Brooklyn asked a little more urgently, "He took Bianca!"

"We do not know where." Goliath answered evenly, "So there is no use debating the point now. We have had a long battle, we need to regroup, and you need that arm attended to…"

"But Goliath, suppose the Illuminati-"

Goliath put a comforting hand on his shoulder, "I understand, Brooklyn. But you must see that there is nothing we can do for her at present." After staring at him for a moment Brooklyn sighed in defeat, weakly nodding his head. "The police have gone now…let us return to the castle. We can decide best how to proceed from there." Goliath made his way over to the ledge and took flight, the rest of his clan following suit.

Matt Bluestone waited until he was down the front steps of the police station and safely moving in his car before reaching for his phone and head set. After one ring the receiver clicked. Matt heard a familiar voice in his ear.

"Well?"

Matt ran a hand through his hair with a sigh, "Well, I took care of it. Lucky you called when you did, Xanatos. Judging by the look of those goons the police hauled in I'm surprised the gargoyles made it out in one piece."

There was a note of weariness in Xanatos' voice as he responded, "From what little Goliath told me about the fight they nearly didn't. What happens now?"

"I pulled a few strings, had a quick chat with the mercenaries' lawyer. Seems the good ol' Illuminati sprung for a top notch attorney…fancy that. The whole bunch of them are being released first thing tomorrow morning." Bluestone explained, his eyes focused on the road ahead of him.

"So soon?" Matt smiled inwardly at his alarm. Maybe Xanatos really had reformed his evil ways if he was this concerned for the safety of the gargoyles.

"Does it really matter?" Matt countered, "The gargoyles got away safely, and so did Macbeth from what I gather…so what's to be gained by holding them in prison? Even if I did arrange to hold them longer I'm sure the Illuminati could just snap their fingers and another thirty men would pop up in their place."

"I gather, Detective Bluestone, that there is something to be gained by releasing them early then…rather then abiding by due process?" Xanatos surmised.

Biting back a laugh Bluestone answered, mimicking David's dry tone, "Right, like you've ever gone by due process."

"You didn't answer the question, Detective."

"Alright, fine. Getting the mercenaries released early gives them no real advantage over us while still making me out to be a loyal brother. In a nutshell, I look like a hero without actually helping." To Matt's everlasting annoyance Xanatos began to laugh.

He could just picture the smirk on David Xanatos' face as he said, "You know, for one of the good guys you really do have a touch of the evil mastermind about you, Bluestone."

"Are you going to offer me a job in your company now? Because if so I may need to go home and take a bath…or several." Matt muttered, faintly perturbed at the idea of Xanatos offering him a personal compliment.

"I generally hire people with better manners. Now you're sure the tip off won't be traced back to me?"

"Positive."

"Alright then. It's been a pleasure working with you as always, Detective Bluestone. I hope we can do this again some time."

Matt shook his head, "Please…I already feel morally corrupt as it is."

"Good day, Detective."


End file.
